Apparatus for dispensing material into the Fallopian tubes of a female through non-surgical procedures have been described in a plurality of patents issued jointly to the inventor of this invention including but not limited to U.S. Pat. No. 3,875,939, entitled SINGLE STROKE DISPENSING METHOD, issued Apr. 8, 1975; U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,654, entitled SINGLE STROKE DISPENSING APPARATUS, ISSUED Aug. 29, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,119,098, entitled IMPROVED MATERIAL DISPENSING APPARATUS, issued Oct. 10, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,328, entitled DISPENSING INSTRUMENT AND METHOD, issued Jan. 8, 1980 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,891, entitled DISPENSING INSTRUMENT WITH SUPPORTED BALLOON, issued June 17, 1980.
Through the use of such dispensing apparatus, "settable" liquid or fluid-like material is injected into the Fallopian tubes to occlude them. The materials used for this purpose are generally fast setting polymerizable materials and are often sensitive to moisture. Therefore, they quickly "set-up" in the uterine cavity if not rapidly forced into the Fallopian tubes. This rapid movement of the materials is accomplished with the subject apparatus by expansion of an associated member which substantially fills the uterine cavity, thus applying pressure to the material to force it into the Fallopian tubes. The material is initially introduced into the uterine cavity via a probe member inserted into the cavity.
It has been determined that there is a need to provide apparatus of this type having a disposable dispensing probe member and associated material transfer means. This and other features of the invention are described hereinbelow.